Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 223, 2913–2922 (2014)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2014-02304-x

Regular Article

Neuronal excitability level transition induced by electrical stimulation

¹ Dept. Radiology & Oncology, LIM/43, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
² Dept. Neurology, LIM/26, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
³ Institute of Physics, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
⁴ Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
⁵ Brain Institute, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
⁶ Instituto de Física Teórica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil

^a e-mail: geflorence@gmail.com

Received: 13 June 2014
Revised: 17 October 2014
Published online: 10 December 2014

Abstract

In experimental studies, electrical stimulation (ES) has been applied to induce neuronal activity or to disrupt pathological patterns. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms of these activity pattern transitions are not clear. To study these phenomena, we simulated a model of the hippocampal region CA1. The computational simulations using different amplitude levels and duration of ES revealed three states of neuronal excitability: burst-firing mode, depolarization block and spreading depression wave. We used the bifurcation theory to analyse the interference of ES in the cellular excitability and the neuronal dynamics. Understanding this process would help to improve the ES techniques to control some neurological disorders.